We're going to Paris.....

seven-day-weekend

....for four-five days next April (House exchange with our little Spanish house, so no accommodation charges:D ). The house is very near the centre of Paris and looks terrific! I'm looking forward to it.

My husband says Paris is very expensive, even for things like cups of coffee. Living as we do in rural Spain, we are not used to this and don't want to spend a fortune.

Has anyone any tips on how to keep the costs down but still be able to see the sights? We will cook for ourselves.

All suggestions gratefully received.

carol_a_3

We got back from Paris last night after spending 4 days there. It was fairly expensive but no worse than any other major city such as London. If you found little cafes, restaurants etc in the side streets rather than on the Champs Elysees for example it was much cheaper. Coffees were around 2-5 euros and we had a 3 course meal and wine for 13e. We had a couple of picnics buying a baguette for about 50 cents and cheese, ham, fruit etc from small shops and markets. The pastries are delicious and only from 1.50-3 euros. If you're self catering it's even easier.

Fen1

Always carry your own bottles of water to drink, topping them up in the morning at home. Going into those little cafes when you are gasping gets expensive really quickly.

The following is from another link on here, but I deleted the actual link address. Doh!:

Buy a MOBILIS card for unlimited public transport in central Paris for €5.50 per day.

DO NOT buy a PARIS VISITE card unless you want to pay for first class on the metro.

Alternatively buy a CARTE ORANGE if staying longer, €16.60 for a week's unlimited public transport in central Paris (photo required).

https://www.ratp.fr

seven-day-weekend

carol_a wrote: »

We got back from Paris last night after spending 4 days there. It was fairly expensive but no worse than any other major city such as London. If you found little cafes, restaurants etc in the side streets rather than on the Champs Elysees for example it was much cheaper. Coffees were around 2-5 euros and we had a 3 course meal and wine for 13e. We had a couple of picnics buying a baguette for about 50 cents and cheese, ham, fruit etc from small shops and markets. The pastries are delicious and only from 1.50-3 euros. If you're self catering it's even easier.

Thanks for this advice. Yes it is expensive by our (rural Spanish) standards! 2-5 euros for a coffee :eek: - we have our entire breakfast here for 3.20 euros (two coffees and two half-baguettes with toppings).

Picnics are a good idea. We'll be mostly bringing home-made food anyway, it was things like coffees and transport I was particularly interested in.

Oh well, have to start saving the centimos! Thanks!

seven-day-weekend

Fen1 wrote: »

Always carry your own bottles of water to drink, topping them up in the morning at home. Going into those little cafes when you are gasping gets expensive really quickly.

The following is from another link on here, but I deleted the actual link address. Doh!:

Buy a MOBILIS card for unlimited public transport in central Paris for €5.50 per day.

DO NOT buy a PARIS VISITE card unless you want to pay for first class on the metro.

Alternatively buy a CARTE ORANGE if staying longer, €16.60 for a week's unlimited public transport in central Paris (photo required).

www.ratp.fr

Useful link, thanks - we'll definitely take that up!

jaymac_2

Macdonalds are good for coffee and toilet stops. Carte orange is great for a week but remember to take passport photos. L.comook at the Paris thread on trip advisor

seven-day-weekend

Thanks Jaymac, much appreciated!

tiamaria

Wouldnt like to do it all the time but we were there last month and have to admit we used Macdonalds and Subway to ensure we weren't ripped off, as a family of 6 we didn't want to risk it.

Having said that, it wasn't as expensive as we were expecting, just a case of being careful and avoiding the fancy looking places and checking menus before going in.

Errata

Lots of lovely stuff here

http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/france/paris/tips/transport

knightstyle

We went for 10 days a couple of years ago and will go back as soon as we have time.
Things to see/do:
View from Tour Montparnasse.
La Sainte Chapelle, Boulevard du Paris.
Parc Andre Citroen - baloon ride views.
Pantheon, Musee d'Orsay, free 1st Sunday in Month.
59 rue Tivolli was an artists squat, worth a visit.
Catacombes, Place denfert-Rochereau.
Musee Bourdelle, Rue Antoine Bourdelle.
Musee de la Magic, Rue Saint Paul.
Chateau le Vicomte, Maincy - candlelit garden at night.
Eifel tower at night - good light show, less queueing.
We didn't get to see all this but this was most of the things on our list.
Have a great time.

vixarooni

i went this summer, what ever you do dont buy coke from a restaurant.

We went to eat up the sacre cour (sorry for crap spelling) and two small cokes came to 14 euros!

my advice is to stick to wine!